Cooking with your food storage

What began in the living room of Susan Labbee has now grown so large she had to move it from home to a room at the courthouse. A group of interested people began a class on how to cook with their food storage and share new recipes. So they met at Labbee's home until the group of participants had to look for larger quarters.

Christine Jensen from the Utah State Extension Office agreed to help the group. She arranged for them to meet at the county building on Feb. 3. Their next meeting will be on March 6 at noon upstairs at the county building. Jensen also offered to copy recipes for the group.

The group learned how to use wheat and powdered milk at their last class and received a packet of recipes to try. Christine Cottrell taught the group to soak the wheat in a thermos with hot water overnight to soften the wheat and prepare it for use in recipes. The wheat was made into a recipe which used the wheat just like beans in baked beans.

The wheat was also put into a salad similar to a Waldorf salad. The participants this day brought a variety of food items using wheat and powdered milk as well as other new recipes.

Labbee said, "We all have food storage, but do we know how to use it and will our families like what is fixed?" That was the idea upon which the group was founded. How can they make the items they have in their food storages more appealing and appetizing to their families in the event of a disaster or emergency where the family has to rely on their food storage.

Mix shortening, sugars and eggs. Stir in milk and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix and chill for one hour. Drop by little teaspoons on cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool and frost.

Frosting:
4 Tbsp. canned milk
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter

Beat and add enough powdered sugar to make creamy. Frost cookies and put a piece of walnut on each cookie.

Combine potatoes, onion, broth and water in a pan. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are done. Pour half of the potatoes and liquid into a blender or mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and return to the pan. Boil. Lower heat to simmer and add milk and simmer another four to five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chives, if desired.

This recipe serves 6-8 people.

You can also add pieces of chicken, ham or bacon to this soup if desired. A can of corn and/or cooked celery may also be added for variation. This is a very filling and inexpensive soup. Some people have used frozen hash browns instead of the raw potatoes if you are in a hurry or do not have regular potatoes.

Cooked Wheat berries

Treat the wheat just like beans, clean and soak before cooking. Wheat can also be sprouted before cooking. Cooked wheat berries can be kept in the freezer until needed.

Stir all ingredients together, laying bacon across the top of the mixture. Bake in a 300 degree oven until cooked down to the consistency you like.

This recipe is versatile. Use your favorite recipe just replacing the beans with the cooked wheat or mixing beans and wheat. That gives you a complete protein. Put in the amount of ingredients to suit your taste. Try pineapple or green pepper, whatever you like.

Purchase the citric acid crystals at the pharmacy or substitute 4-5 Tbls. fresh lemon juice or 4-5 Tbls. white vinegar. Blend water and dry milk powder and pour into a sauce pan sprayed with Pam, over low heat. Sprinkle citric acid slowly around the edges while stirring, just until milk curdles, separating into curds and whey. Stir until the curdled milk turns yellowish. If it stays white, there may not be enough citric acid added or it is just not stirred in well enough. Do not let the mixture come to a boil. Take to the sink and rinse over a colander in very hot water until there is no more foam, then in cold water. Press out liquid, add salt. Store in refrigerator and use in any recipe calling for cottage cheese.